M&P40c Update

This is a discussion on M&P40c Update within the Defensive Carry Guns forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; Called S&W customer service on the 15th. Explained my situation to the guy on the phone (Broken striker assembly). I asked if they could just ...

M&P40c Update

Called S&W customer service on the 15th. Explained my situation to the guy on the phone (Broken striker assembly). I asked if they could just ship a new assembly as opposed to me having to send the gun in which they had no problem doing. Got the new striker assembly today. I have heard S&W has great customer service and this dealing backed that up. 5 days from phone call to part in my hand is a really good turn around time.

I immediately noticed that the new striker assembly did not look exactly like the old one. The new one appears to be all stainless steel where as the old was not. I did a bit of research when the problem first occurred and from what I gathered it was a fairly common problem with the early M&P's. It makes sense that they would change to a completely stainless striker assembly.

Either way, the gun is fixed, tested and up for sale/trade on my local gun forum.

Oh well. I had high hopes with you and that 40 Rollo. If you did good with it, it would have emboldened me to jump on the 40 waggon and see how far i made it.

Don't get me wrong. I still think the .40 is a great round. In the sub compact auto loading CCW role I think it's the best round available. It's just for the time being I've lost faith in auto's and will be sticking with wheel guns for carry. If your interested in the .40 I think the G27 or G23 would be a great option.

Don't get me wrong. I still think the .40 is a great round. In the sub compact auto loading CCW role I think it's the best round available. It's just for the time being I've lost faith in auto's and will be sticking with wheel guns for carry. If your interested in the .40 I think the G27 or G23 would be a great option.

Oh, I wasn't talking about the round itself Rollo. I meant the platform.

Don't get me wrong. I still think the .40 is a great round. In the sub compact auto loading CCW role I think it's the best round available. It's just for the time being I've lost faith in auto's and will be sticking with wheel guns for carry. If your interested in the .40 I think the G27 or G23 would be a great option.

I'm surprised that this has made you lose faith in all autos. I know that generally speaking revolvers are more reliable than autos but anyone will tell you that even revolvers can have problems. My only revolver is my LCR which I love, but I still feel much more comfortable with 13-16 rounds in my Glocks.

I'm sure you will love your revolver though. You are carrying a SP101 right?

I'm surprised that this has made you lose faith in all autos. I know that generally speaking revolvers are more reliable than autos but anyone will tell you that even revolvers can have problems. My only revolver is my LCR which I love, but I still feel much more comfortable with 13-16 rounds in my Glocks.

I'm sure you will love your revolver though. You are carrying a SP101 right?

This issue didn't make me loose faith in auto's. This issue coupled with the 4 failed auto's BEFORE this made me loose faith in autos. I agree that revolvers can have issues. Anything mechanical has the possibility to fail. At the end of the day though I feel more confident with 5 rounds of .357 in my SP101 then I did with 10 rounds of 9mm or .40 in a auto. Partially because I have faith the SP101 is actually going to work and partially because I have more faith in .357 then any other service caliber handgun cartridge on the market.

I'm sure you know of these folks ( http://www.apextactical.com/ ), but just in case, I run their parts in my M&P's; and between the M&P platform and Apex's sear, I finally pulled away from wheelguns after a couple decades of brushing off autos. There is practically unlimited reading about them at: http://mp-pistol.com/

Couple of things to consider...Can you do a one-handed reload with a revolver? (hand injuries are very common in a gun fight)

What, exactly, makes the .357 so much better than a 9mm or a .40? What is it that gives it better terminal performance, in your estimation?

Just some things to consider. You can do as you wish, but IMHO you are taking a big step backward. What will you do if one of your revolvers fails (broken mainspring, timing issue, unseated primer or bullet that jams the cylinder)?

Again, IMHO, the answer you seek is not to be found in a revolver...it is to be found in the carrying of a secondary handgun.

Whatever you do - all the best.

Last edited by 10thmtn; December 20th, 2010 at 10:59 PM.
Reason: spelling

Called S&W customer service on the 15th. Explained my situation to the guy on the phone (Broken striker assembly). I asked if they could just ship a new assembly as opposed to me having to send the gun in which they had no problem doing. Got the new striker assembly today. I have heard S&W has great customer service and this dealing backed that up. 5 days from phone call to part in my hand is a really good turn around time.

I immediately noticed that the new striker assembly did not look exactly like the old one. The new one appears to be all stainless steel where as the old was not. I did a bit of research when the problem first occurred and from what I gathered it was a fairly common problem with the early M&P's. It makes sense that they would change to a completely stainless striker assembly.

Either way, the gun is fixed, tested and up for sale/trade on my local gun forum.

Wow, so S&W has totally redesigned the striker assembly and come out with an improved new version in stainless steel.

Couple of things to consider...Can you do a one-handed reload with a revolver? (hand injuries are very common in a gun fight)

What, exactly, makes the .357 so much better than a 9mm or a .40? What is it that gives it better terminal performance, in your estimation?

Just some things to consider. You can do as you wish, but IMHO you are taking a big step backward. What will you do if one of your revolvers fails (broken mainspring, timing issue, unseated primer or bullet that jams the cylinder)?

Again, IMHO, the answer you seek is not to be found in a revolver...it is to be found in the carrying of a secondary handgun.

Whatever you do - all the best.

No. My glock ran like a Swiss watch. If I go back to carrying a auto it will be a Glock hands down.

Yes. While It is more difficult to manipulate the speed loader into the chamber some of that is mediated by not having to rack the slide (if it is not lacked back)

Ballistics are tough to debate as it's all numbers/data and we all know that numbers and data can be quoted and presented to support whatever point we would like them to. That being said there are 2 hand gun cartridges that I "trust". Trust meaning that if I put 3 rounds center mass it's HIGHLY doubtful that the person or animal I put them in is going to be alive for very long. Are there exceptions? Of course. Crazy crack head A taking 11 rounds of .45 or Crazy meth head B taking 7 rounds of .357 is not unheard of. Is it likely? No.

If One of my revolvers fails I'll get another. If 4 more fail I'll give auto's another try.

No offense to anyone that carries a back but I just plain don't want to have to carry two guns so I can feel comfortable that 1 will work. I understand wheel guns can fail but at the end of the day they are statistically less likely to fail then a auto.

At the end of the day this is the philosophy I have adopted. I believe that the auto has 3 main advantages over the wheel gun.

The trigger - Like any platform I think that with training a wheel gun can be shot every bit as fast and accurately as a auto.

Speed of Reload - While I think that a wheel gun can be re-loaded close to as fast as a auto I also recognize that it takes more fine motor skills to do so and that is a dis-advantage. However that segways into a point I will make in a second.

Capacity - A wheel gun carries less rounds then most semi auto's That may or may not be a disadvantage. To cover that segway I was talking about I will copy and paste from another post I made.

azchevy made a comment that I put a lot of stock in. He basically said you have to carry based on your AO. If my AO was Iraq (IE if I was a soldier) then a 5 shot .357 wouldn't be my first choice as a side arm. If my AO was Detroit and I was a LEO a revolver wouldn't be my first choice. Either of those AO's might require me to lay down suppressing fire or do something else that cops or soldiers are required to do. Thing is, I'm not a cop or a soldier. I'm a civilian carrying a weapon for my own personal protection and for the size and weight there are no other weapons that I think will be equally as effective at putting a man down as my Ruger SP-101. Are there situations where it is not ideal? Sure. There always will be. I could get jumped my 27 uzi wielding ninja's. There's always a IF and there's always a THEN. For your average lethal force street confrontation (If there's anything "average" about a lethal force street confrontation) 5 rounds of .357 is historically more then enough. Is it my go to weapon for home defense? Nope. My Remington 870 is. is it my go to weapon for a zombie apocalypse? Nope, My AR-15 is. Would it be my go to side arm as a soldier or a cop? Nope, the Glock 17 would be. Is it a nasty fight stopping caliber in a small concealable package that I can carry day in and day out? Yes it is...

If my auto fails in a fight I am going to think that Mr. Murphy is messing with me. If my wheel gun fails in a fight I am going to think it's god telling me it's my time to go.